Life in Rural America

The Mindset of Radical Survivalist

The 1970s and the 1980s were interesting times for survivalist. The threat of nuclear war with Russia was a clear and present danger. Russia was in Afghanistan getting its butt kicked by a bunch of nomads. Duck and cover public service announcements were broadcast on TV. Soldier of Fortune magazine and American Survival Guide was the reading material of the day. But it was in the 1990s and beyond when things really got “interesting.”

The 1980s

When I was in high school (1982 – 1986), the dad of one of my friends seemed a little “radical” to say the least. If not radical, maybe just very, very paranoid. This was before I had very much knowledge or experience in stuff like the New World Order (NWO) and conspiracy theories.

This happened about 23 years ago, but I am going to try and tell the story the best that my memory serves me.

The father of my buddy had busted holes in the walls of the house, then stuck a rifle into the hole. He said if the feds ever come to get him, he wanted a firearm within reach. So there was a gun in the wall of every room. Even while sitting on the toilet there was a firearm within reach.

The dad stayed armed just about all the time with a Colt 1911 45 ACP. There were a couple of times where the dad was seen in town with the pistol. One time he was at a local grocery store when a clerk saw the pistol in his pocket – the clerk called the police. When the police approached the man, the son asked the officer if they could talk in private. The son told the police that his dad was a little “off” – and he was. The police officer was nice enough not to arrest the man, but made him leave the store.

Then there was the stories of the FBI watching his house, bugging his telephone, following him,,,,,,.

My buddies dad ran a small home based business and repaired small engines, such as lawn mowers and boat motors. I think this had something to do with making below a certain amount so he did not have to pay income taxes.

The family lived a very frugal lifestyle, ate a lot of cheap food (such as peanut butter), wore clothes that had holes in them, did not go to town very often. If memory serves me right, most of their food was out of store bought cans. This was so when the power was cut off very little food would spoil. I remember the family eating a lot of peanut butter and honey.

One story the dad told me went something like this – years ago he was away from home working on a construction job. Instead of renting an apartment or hotel room, he slept under his car. There just happened to be a panther living in the area. So the dad started putting food out for that panther and slowly tamed it.

About 3 years ago – 2005, 2006 or 2007 – I saw the dad at a local grocery store. He looked kinda rough and gave the appearance of being homeless. His hair was in a tangled mess, his clothes were dirty looking and he had a strange, almost lost look in his eyes. He is not homeless as I know where he lives and I see his car parked there on a regular basis. I did not speak to him, maybe I should have, maybe I am glad I didn’t.

I just can not imagine being so paranoid, as to believe that the government is watching everything that I do. It seemed that my buddies dad was obsessed that the FBI (or someone else) was watching every move he made.

The 1990s

After the fall of the Soviet Union, survivalist kinda wandered around (not literally). There was no real threat any more. There was no real enemy that we could point our finger at and say – they can nuke our cities. There was the AIDS scare from the 1980s and early 1990s where people thought the AIDS virus might mutate to where it was air borne, but that never happened. There was China, but they mostly mind their own business.

It was during the administration of George Bush SR. that were certain events that put the ball into motion, and its never stopped rolling.

The invasion of Kuwait by Iraq in 1990 was one of the most important events to affect the USA in recent history. George Bush SR. did not take care of business in 1991 and left Saddam Hussein in power. This forced George Bush JR. to re invade Iraq and finish what his daddy didn’t.

Rudy Ridge in 1992

there was a stand off between federal agents and Randy Weaver. The wife of Randy Weaver – Vicki Weaver – was murdered by a federal agent who was never prosecuted for his crimes. Vicki Weaver was standing in a doorway, in plain view, unarmed, holding her child and a federal agent sniper shot her in the head. Vicki was dead before her body hit the ground.

This was a prime example of how an out of control government agency can act above, and without fear of the law. If a local police officer had shot Vicki in the same manner, the police officer would probably go to jail. But because it was a federal agent, nothing happened.

Conspiracy theories started going around that Ruby Ridge was a test to see how everyday people would react to hostage situations. That the whole thing was one large social experiment.

Branch Davidian Compound in 1993

The murder of innocent children by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (BATF) is another example. The invasion was supposed to be for weapons that had been illegally converted to fully automatic. But that was later changed to child abuse. During the trials that followed the raid, no such weapons were ever produced. Nobody at the BATF has ever been put on trial for the murder of innocent children. To certain grassroots organizations, the raid on the Branch Davidians was an example of an out of control government.

The BATF raid on Mount Carmel and Ruby Ridge were some of the reasons why Timothy James McVeigh bombed the Alfred P. Murrah Building in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995.

Once again, conspiracy theories started going around that the Mount Carmel event was just one large social experiment to see how people would react. But this time, it was on a larger scale then Ruby Ridge.

Free Trade and NAFTA

NAFTA was a hot topic in the 1992 presidential candidates, which were Bill Clinton, George Bush SR. and Ross Perot. In one of his campaign promises, Bill Clinton said that he would not sign the North American Free Trade Agreement – NAFTA. After Bill Clinton became president, the people learned that he had lied and had no intentions on keeping his promises. NAFTA became law in 1994.

Free trade agreements gave the everyday working man reason to believe that big business had bought the US government. Now jobs can be shipped to Mexico without fear of tariffs on imported goods. This meant cheap labor and massive profits for companies that sent their jobs overseas.

This belief that big business owns the US government was reaffirmed with the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Talk show host like Chuck Harder started warning people of the dangers of free trade. I personally remember some of Chucks shows from the early 1990s. He tried to warn people about the trickle effect that closing factories and moving them to foreign counties would have. With no factories, the tax base would shrink. With fewer tax dollars, roads, bridges and social services will fall into ruin. And now here we are in 2009 and just about all of those predictions have come true.

As factories closed and people were losing their jobs because of free trade. Cries went out to congress to stop the madness. But congress did not listen to the people – the pleas fell on deaf ears. It was like big business, the president and congress were going to steam roll the people. What “the people” wanted did not matter. As long as major corporations were turning a profit and stocks were going up, that is all that mattered.

Then there was the so called “assault rifle ban” that was signed into law by Bill Clinton on September 13, 1994.

All of these events – Rudy Ridge, Waco, the murders of innocent civilians by the BATF, free trade, the assault rifle ban, the United Nations trying to outlaw all guns – forced people to believe that the government was out of control. There was (and still is) fear that the USA was giving its sovereignty away. That the free trade agreements erased borders and put US factory workers in direct competition with people that will work for pennies an hour.

It was somewhere in the early to mid 1990s that I remember hearing about the New World Order for the first time. The theory went something like this – these huge companies are working with the governments of the world to create a New World Order (NWO). Where there will be one currency, no tariffs, no wars and only peace between nations.

The people pushing the theories used examples of the European Union, the Euro, the Amero, NATFA, GATT, and the WTO of how everything was falling into place. To add a little fear into the theory, there was talk of the United Nations invading the USA, going house to house and seizing firearms.

The founding fathers knew that if all else failed, that there was one thing that a government is afraid of – and that is the peoples right to own a firearm. There was a cry going across the nation that it might be time to overthrow the government with force, and start over. The elected officials no longer listened to the people, so what else were they supposed to do. There was concern that when Timothy McVeigh was executed, that militia groups would use him as a martyr.

“One of the ordinary modes, by which tyrants accomplish their purposes without resistance, is, by disarming the people, and making it an offense to keep arms.”
— Constitutional scholar and Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story, 1840

And that is what it looked like the US Government and the United Nations was trying to do. They were going to disarm the people so there could be no armed resistance to their social and economic agenda.

There was one shining example in the 1990s of how important the right to keep and bear arms is. And that was the Rodney King riots. On April 29, 1992 a jury acquitted four Los Angeles Police Department officers accused of beating a black man – Rodney King. After the jury returned the not guilty verdict, thousands of people in the Los Angeles area rioted over the next six days. There was widespread looting, assault, arson and even murder. Property damages are estimated at roughly $1 billion US dollars. 53 people died during the riots and thousands more were injured.

Out of the riots came pictures of store owners who defended their property with their own firearms. Images of armed store owners, taking shelter behind cardboard bales 4 feet tall were all over the TV channels and newspapers.

The stores where the owners did not have guns – they were the most looted.

The stores where the owners DID have guns – they were the least looted.

When the police are unable to protect the people, it the peoples responsibility to protect themselves. The Rodney King riots gave a good example of how important private gun ownership is. And how law abiding gun owners use their firearms for legal and responsible purposes.

As the year 2000 drew closer the conspiracy theories really took off. There was talk that the backs of street signs contained an image for the invading armies of the United Nations. Somehow the soldiers were supposed to use this little sticker for directions or other information. It later turned out that the sticker was the date that the sign was made.

There was a book published called “Vampire Slayer 2000.” It went into detail about how the USA was going to be dissolved before the year 2000.

The year 2000 computer scare had its fair share amount of rumors as well. They ranged from all of the nuclear missiles launching on their own, to prison doors opening and convicts escaping, to power plants shutting down.

The year 2000 came and went without any major events.

The 2000s

The year started off with a splash when Alan Greenspan was nominated for a fourth term as U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman. Then meant that the Federal Reserve – which is a private company – would keep control of the US economy.

For those of you that do not know, the Federal Reserve is a company that has been given the right to print money. The Federal Reserve then “loans” the money to the US government, who has to pay it back with interest. Because the Federal Reserve prints the money, the US government will never get out of debt. This means that the people will never be able to lower their tax burden.

In the November 2000 presidential elections there was a dispute over the votes from Florida. But George Bush JR. finally won. This gave the impression that the office of the president has been reduced to a family affair. Where it was more like a kingship instead of an elected office. The fact that the brother of George Bush JR – Jeb Bush – was governor of Florida did not help either.

Conspiracy theories started on voting machine fraud. There were accusations that elections were now rigged and “the powers that be” will determine “who” will win the election. Having states that were talking about having all electronic elections did not help.

September 11, 2001 has to be the conspiracy theory of all conspiracy theories. Shortly after the world trade towers were destroyed, stories started floating around that it was an inside job. A couple of videos were made detailing how everything worked together. If your interested, go look up the “Loose Change” video.

It seems that the 2000s has brought in a whole new breed of conspiracy theories. Its as if the people that promote these agendas do not need any real evidence. Its almost sickening the amount of rumors that are floating around – some new and some old.

The New World Order is still with us.

Scientist are developing man made viruses so people will be forced to buy Tamiflu, which in turn will make Dick Cheney lots of money. Its rumored that Dick Cheney owns some major shares of Tamiflu stock.
So if sales go up, stock goes up.

911 was staged to give the USA a reason to invade Iraq.

Jet chem trails are really some kind of chemical the government is spreading.

FEMA is setting up death camps.

FEMA is setting up prison camps.

The government is going to outlaw ownership of guns.

The government is going to implant computer chips in everyone.

The US Government invaded Iraq to take control of its oil.

Iran will be invaded for its oil as soon as Haliburton is finished rebuilding Iraq.

FEMA launched some kind of biological attack on Atlanta, Georgia.

Cameras are being installed all across the nation to track people.

Most of those statements are myths, but some people actually believe them.

In 2008 the economy started the crash. A couple of years before hand, the lust for money led the people working at banks to start handing out flexible mortgage rates. Home buyers, not being able to see what might happen in the coming months fell for the tricks and gimmicks of the bankers and fell into heavy debt. As the teaser rates came to an end, homeowners found themselves unable to pay their house notes as mortgages doubled and tripled.

The US Federal government, instead of helping the everyday working man, gave loans to the banks. The money had to come from somewhere, so the Federal Reserve printed the money with nothing to back it up. This increased the national debt, increased inflation, decreased the value of the dollar and put the tax payers in debt. So now homeowners not only have to pay their house note, they are going to have to pay the loan back to the Federal Reserve. Some people have said we have enslaved our great grand children.

The amount of loans given to the banks would have paid off every house in America.

With the government adding insult to injury, is there any real wonder why people are so mad at their elected officials? The US Government has put measures in place that keep the working man right where they belong, at the feet of the wealthy.

Past the Politics:

From the dawn of mankind people have kept the basic tools on hand to ensure their survival in tough times. This usually included some kind of weapon for self defense or defend the family and property, food – which included crops and livestock and finally some way to trade for needed items or earn money.

In the past few decades things have changed. Cities and neighborhoods have banned crops and livestock. Some areas have even banned fruit trees – because children might eat the fruit and get sick. So lets just forget about teaching our kids not to eat stuff that they do not know what it is, lets just enslave ourselves to the grocery stores.

When did the will of mankind go from taking care of ourselves, to begging for a paycheck? When did we go from picking our own food, to making almost daily trips to the grocery store? When did we go from hunting our own food, to eating meat out of a can?

This is the difference between a survivalist and your “average” person. A survivalist knows that something in society has gone horribly wrong, and does not want to be part of it.

As people are wondering “how” they are going to be able to buy groceries, a survivalist is picking food from their garden.

As people are wondering why the price of meat has gotten so high, the survivalist is tracking deer and hogs with thoughts of steaks and sausage floating through their heads.

As people are voting the Democratic or Republican ticket and wondering why nothing in Washington is changing, Survivalist are voting third party. Because we know that the only way for things to really change is for the two major parties to be removed from office.

There is nothing radical about being a survivalist. Its just the opposite. There is something wrong with people that are willing to enslave themselves.

Kevin Felts was born and raised in southeast Texas, graduated from Bridge City high school Bridge City Texas, and attended Lamar College in Port Arthur Texas.
Hobbies include fishing, hiking, hunting, blogging, sharing his politically incorrect opinion, video blogging on youtube, survivalism and spending time with his family.
In his free time you may find Kevin working around the farm, building something, or tending to the livestock